Worcester Magazine November 12 -18, 2021

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | CULTURE § ARTS § DINING § VOICES

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Worcester Magazine 100 Front St., Fifth Floor Worcester, MA 01608 worcestermag.com Editorial (508) 767.9535 WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com Sales (508) 767.9530 WMSales@gatehousemedia.com VP, Sales & Strategy Andrew Chernoff Executive Editor David Nordman Editor Nancy Campbell Content Editor Victor D. Infante Reporters Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell Sanders, Gari De Ramos, Robert Duguay, Liz Fay, Jason Greenough, Janice Harvey, Barbara Houle, Jim Keogh, Jim Perry, Craig S. Semon, Matthew Tota Multi Media Sales Executives Deirdre Baldwin, Debbie Bilodeau, Kate Carr, Diane Galipeau, Sammi Iacovone, Kathy Puffer, Jody Ryan, Regina Stillings Sales Support Jackie Buck, Yanet Ramirez Senior Operations Manager Gary Barth Operations Manager John Cofske Worcester Magazine is a news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement.

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Featured ..............................................................................4 City Voices ........................................................................12 Cover Story.......................................................................14 The Next Draft.................................................................20 Artist Spotlight................................................................21 Adoption Option.............................................................28 Games................................................................................30 Classifi eds ........................................................................29 Last Call .............................................................................31

On the cover A plate from Charcuterie Woo is a great touch to add to your holiday festivities this year.

PHOTO BY T&G STAFF PHOTO/CHRISTINE PETERSON

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FEATURED

WPI professor eyes cost of hydrogen as energy Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

In 1842, Welsh scientist William Grove invented the fi rst hydrogen fuel cell, which generated electricity with only water as a byproduct.

Sounds like just what we need, right? The climate crisis demands clean energy, and it seems like the solution has been with us for over a century and a half. Unfortunately, if it’s too good to be true, it usually is. As an energy source, hydrogen is just too expensive to use.

“Hydrogen is the cleanest fuel possible right now, but the cost is the issue,” said Yu Zhong, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Zhong and his team have received a $999,973 grant to iron out the kinks in the process of using hydrogen as a clean fuel. The WPI project is one of only 12 nationwide that has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The grant is part of a larger initiative by the DOE to improve the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen as a fuel and as a means to reduce carbon emissions.

Our world runs on the products of fossil fuels, and the use of those is the largest source of carbon emissions by far. While it is clear that climate change must be addressed with radical change, we can’t live without fuel. It seems like a catch-22 but if Zhong has anything to say about the matter, cost-eff ective clean fuel generation may well be within reach.

Hydrogen is produced from a chemical reaction that breaks down water molecules into its oxygen and hydrogen components. Zhong has been contemplating a solution to make it more cost eff ective for about 20 years, when he started working on solid oxygen fuel cells before moving to electrolysis cells.

Along with the primary cost barrier, electrolysis, which is the use of an electrical current to drive a chemical reac-

Professor Yu Zhong at work in the lab. WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

tion, is the key component in this process, and it is most often used in the separation of elements. The use of electricity generated by solar or wind power allows hydrogen production to be powered by renewable sources.

However, the Solid Oxygen Electrolysis Cells, or SOECs, have a lifetime of one to fi ve years before they must be replaced, as the oxygen electrodes in the SOECs rapidly degrade due to chromium poisoning. The frequent replacement of SOECs makes this method not worth the investment necessary for large-scale hydrogen production.

The key, said Zhong, is elongating that process and correspondingly lowering the hydrogen production cost. To do so, the DOE is funding projects that will build oxygen electrodes more resistant to chromium poisoning. “The DOE

is really working to embrace a hydrogen society,” said Zhong.

SOECs operate in large stacks, each separated by an interconnecter of stainless steel, which contains chromium.

The oxygen electrodes are the active material that will drive the chemical reaction to produce hydrogen. To continue this reaction, the electrodes must retain their electrical conductivity and must remain stable. At high temperatures, the chromium in the steel is released and as chromium levels increase, it reacts with the electrodes instead, reducing the SOECs performance.

Through computer modelling and laboratory experiments, Zhong’s team hopes to design entirely new materials for oxygen electrodes, which are currently ceramic based. “We have proved that the classic materials have issues so

we want to propose some totally new materials,” said Zhong, which will be diff erent down to the microstructure.

The current goal is to extend the lifespan of SOECs to10 to 15 years but hopefully as much as 25 to 30. However, the development progress is not measured in terms of years but in percentage degradation per a thousand hours.

The target measure, said Zhong, is 0.4%, quite a ways down from where it can easily go into the double digits.

The project will go for two years, after which, results will be given to a local industry partner, Saint-Gobain Research North America in Northborough. For Zhong, the project represents breaking the cost barrier for the ultimate renewable energy source — one that can be drawn from the air itself. “As long as you have oxygen, you have hydrogen.”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 5

Fall Of Troy will perform Nov. 18 upstairs at The Palladium. PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

Fall Of Troy celebrates ‘Doppelgänger’ anniversary at Palladium

Robert Duguay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Every band has that one album that’s a testament to their music. It’s the shining gem, the magnum opus, the most popular one and — whether it was made 10 years ago or yesterday — it stands the test of time. Featuring a blend of progressive rock, math rock and post-hardcore, The Fall Of Troy has one of those albums: their sophomore release, “Doppelgänger,” which came out during the summer of 2005.

At the time, it took the Mukilteo, Washington, trio of guitarist and vocalist Thomas Erak, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Ward and drummer Andrew Forsman to new heights with its hitting both the indie and heatseeker charts along with one of the tracks becoming part of a well-known video game series. It’s been more than 15 years since the album came out, and the band is currently ringing in its “15+1” anniversary as part of a current tour. With Jon Henry-Batts as their touring bassist, The Fall Of Troy will be making a stop Nov. 18 upstairs at The Palladium with Strawberry Girls, Kao-

nashi and Satyr opening up the show.

Forsman views “Doppelgänger” as an introduction for many fans to the band’s sound, because of the amount of attention it got upon its release.

“I think it’s the entry point for probably 90% of our fans,” he says about the album. “It has a song of ours that was included in ‘Guitar Hero 3,’ ‘F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X,’ which was a huge exposure for us, so I think for a large majority of our fans it was the fi rst album they heard. I would call it our foundational album.”

In August of last year, the band put out their sixth album, “Mukiltearth,” on their own without a label. The album has an interesting structure, with an old-meets-new type of thing going on where six of the songs were written when Erak and Forsman were still in high school while there are also four brand new tracks. Forsman views the record as the closing of a chapter for The Fall Of Troy with the next chapters still to be unknown.

“It started out that we were going to do two EPs, one of re-recordings of the fi rst six songs we’ve ever written and one of fresh, new songs,” he says of how the “Mukiltearth” came to be.

“The more I listened to them as they were being mixed, mastered and stuff like that, I ended up listening to them as a whole piece of music. One of my favorite tropes in TV shows and stories is the kind of time-skip where something happens and the characters move forward a bunch of years in time, now you’re interacting with these characters and they have all this history together. There’s things you aren’t sure about but there’s these references to the past and stuff like that so we began to conceive that structure as an album. The fi rst half is stuff we wrote during our fi rst year as a band and the latter half is made up of the last songs we’ve written and recorded.”

Forsman adds that, “We haven’t recorded or written any new music since the writing and recording of those songs. I thought it was a really interesting way to compare the beginning of the band to the end of the band and honestly, at the time the album was being put together and even now still I’m not sure if there will be any new music from The Fall Of Troy so it feels like a really nice bookend. Not to say that we defi nitely won’t record any new music but it felt like if we put out

this album with our earliest stuff and our newest stuff then it’s kind of like a nice book cover on each end of the band’s career.”

Looking ahead, Forsman says, “We have a couple kind of local-ish shows, one in Seattle, one in Tacoma and one in Portland. Then, we’ll take some time off for the holidays and next year in 2022, I think the plan is to do some shows for the 15-year anniversary of the album that came after ‘Doppelgänger,’ ‘Manipulator.’

“In theory, there will be a tour happening next year to celebrate that album. It’s both nice and not nice to have everything being pushed back a year due to COVID-19 because normally there would be two years between those anniversary shows for those two albums but in this case they’re rolling right into each other. As a band, we like revisiting albums as a whole and it’s a nice chance to look back on where we were at the time and some of the risks and chances we took as far as songwriting.

“There are things that haven’t aged perfectly but they’re still fun to play,” he adds. “People should expect more anniversary shows in the future.”

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See ‘Harley’s Funhouse’ show at Ralph’s Rock Diner Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

“I’m an artist. Drag to me is a medium that lets me experiment with gender and it kind of makes me feel like I’m heightening myself and making myself into art. That’s what my entire life is about — making art.”

Jay Gaudette, whose drag name is Harley Queen, is also a graphic designer and illustrator with a new children’s book coming out next year titled, “I Don’t Know.” In the meantime, he’s hosting a new monthly drag show, “Harley’s Funhouse,” starting Nov. 18 at Ralph’s Rock Diner. There will be an open stage drag competition for any performers who need a stage and the fi rst prize is a paid guest spot in the next show.

Gaudette has performed at Electric Haze and Bull Mansion in Worcester, as well as locations in Boston but this is his fi rst show at Ralph’s. “When I started doing drag in Worcester four years ago, it was one of my goals to have my own show at Ralph’s,” he said, so this is a personal goal fulfi lled.

He fi rst got started when he moved out of Boston after college and met his friend Henry, whose drag name is Poison Envy. “There was a drag night at Clark, so we decided to start doing drag as a hobby every so often, like going to parties in drag.” At the time, they just wanted to play around with makeup and “live our best life” but then they got noticed and one of the drag queens in Worcester asked if they wanted to perform at a charity show. After that, they started getting paid gigs and their hobby underwent a metamorphosis and became a job.

Gaudette is humble when he recalls that he came into Worcester not knowing what the scene was like in the past but now “some people even credit us with bringing drag back to Worcester, because it was kind of in a dead zone.”

He was frank about how much of a weird transition it was to relearn how to perform for an audience. “The pandemic was pretty rough — we were doing digital drag shows and had to get even more creative. We had to record ourselves and come up with crazy ideas and use editing to make these entertaining videos.” Prior to the pandemic, he was crowned Miss Gay Worcester 2020, a title which he still holds because there was no Pride Pageant in 2021.

The fi rst post-pandemic show was at the Summit Lounge, and getting back to performing in person for a visible audience, as opposed to on screen, was nervewracking. “It’s diff erent,” he explained, “because we spent a whole year not being on stage and so the nerves come back, ‘what if I’m not good enough,’ but overall a lot of us drag performers have performance in our blood so we get on stage and do our thing and worry about it afterwards.”

When asked how he chose his drag name, Gaudette elaborated on how he has always loved the Batman comics and the Harley Quinn character who was created in 1992. “Growing up, you’re told she’s a girl and I

Harley Queen in full costume. JAY GAUDETTE

couldn’t be her but now I realize as an adult that gender is just a construct — so I used drag to get into that persona and delve into being Harley Quinn.” Along the way, he said, he found out more about himself and evolved what he does and what he wants to put out in the world. “I’m not Harley Quinn, but there are parts of her that resonate with me. Be who you want to be.”

Harley’s Funhouse will be held at 148 Grove St., Worcester, on Thursday, Nov. 18, at Ralph’s Diner. The show is 21+ and begins at 9 p.m. upstairs with $8 cover charge. Those interested in performing can reach Gaudette via email at jgaudetteart@gmail.com or on Instagram at @heartharley.

10 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ to return Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The multi-platinum, progressive rock group Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s famed Winter Tour will be back starting Nov. 17 with a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the group’s landmark album, “Christmas Eve and Other Stories.”

If TSO’s tours have become a holiday tradition since the fi rst one in 1999, so too have the group’s annual visits to the DCU Center in Worcester. What is now billed as a “multisensory extravaganza” production returns to the DCU Center for performances at 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 27.

Last year TSO decided to forgo touring because of the pandemic and put on a livestreamed performance of “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” from a sound stage in Nashville. Special preshow content included behind-thescenes footage and interview segments.

The livestream was a success with about 250,000 households viewing the event.

Still, another year of not touring live would have been diffi cult to take for TSO music director and lead guitarist Al Pitrelli and longtime TSO drummer Jeff Plate.

“I think I could speak for Jeff on this one saying we’ll show up in hazmat suits and play, dude. We’re just like caged animals chomping at the bit,” said Pitrelli.

“To not do what we’ve been doing for 20-something years, to have that taken away from us last year, you love something this much, once you have it back in your hands, you love it, cherish it, protect it that much more. So I just want to put a guitar around my shoulders and stand out in stage center and say, ‘Let’s go.’”

Pitrelli and Plate were speaking with reporters from around the country during a recent teleconference to advance the tour.

Plate praised the work that had gone into the livestream show and keeping everybody safe last year. “Management team did a fantastic job. The production crew, everybody on board really did a great job and just making this thing look awesome. It looked great on the TV screen, on the computer screen. Let’s hope we don’t have to do it again, but if we do, I think we know we’re in good hands,” he said.

However, “I’d rather not do it again.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is returning to the DCU Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF JASON MCEACHERN

Trans-Siberian Orchestra — ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ When: 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 27 Where: DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester How much: $25 to $95+. www.Ticketmaster.com

I’d rather go out and play live. There’s something just so magical about playing live,” said Pitrelli.

“Absolutely,” Plate said.

“Who knows? Listen, we all learned one important lesson. We have no idea what tomorrow holds for us anymore.

Whatever they say to do, I’ll do it,” Pitrelli said.

The 2021 TSO Winter Tour tour will visit 59 cities for 99 performances across America from Nov. 17 before concluding on Dec. 30.

In announcing the tour, Pitrelli said, “After an incredibly trying year for everyone we are beyond excited to be able to say that we’re bringing ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ back to all of you.

We were amazed by the turnout for last year’s livestream and how many of you continued to celebrate this tradition we have created together. It’s been 25 years

since (TSO founder) Paul (O’Neill) fi rst introduced all of us to this timeless tale.

Let’s celebrate this milestone event together. God bless and stay safe everyone.”

“Christmas Eve and Other Stories” was where it all began for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The band’s 1996 rock-opera debut album (which would become part of a Christmas trilogy) went triple platinum with tracks such as the song “Ornament” and the instrumental “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” becoming classics.

“Christmas Eve and Other Stories,” conceived by TSO founder/composer/ lyricist/producer Paul O’Neill, combines original music and adaptations of traditional music in instrumentals and songs with new lyrics written by O’Neil. The story is set on Christmas Eve when a young angel is sent to Earth to bring back what is best representative of humanity. The angel hears a man praying for his lost daughter.

The tour will feature the album and also have a second set containing some of TSO’s other greatest hits and fanpleasers, including “Christmas Canon,” “Wizards In Winter” and more.

TSO embarked on its fi rst live tour in 1999 with a stage adaptation of “Christmas Eve and Other Stories,” and toured with it through 2011. Then in 2012 and

2013, the band staged its 2004 album “The Lost Christmas Eve” and in 2014 hit the road with 1998’s “The Christmas Attic.” From 2015 to 2018, TSO featured an adaptation of its 1999 TV special “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.” “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” made its return to stages and arenas in 2019 and would have toured in 2020 but was performed as the livestream show.

In 1999, TSO had hit the road with a relatively modest production set up. But the production values rapidly expanded as band members and singers were accompanied by lavishly presented visuals and special light and sound eff ects.

There have been huge audiences to match, with total attendance at all the Winter Tour shows now at approximately 17 million.

“There’s always a trick up the production team’s sleeve every year,” Plate noted.

Pitrelli has been at a venue and “I see 21 tractor-trailer trucks (outside) … (I think) ‘Oh my God, this is the greatest thing ever.’ “ Sadly amid all of this, another story was O’Neill’s sudden death on April 5, 2017, at 61.

He had been a regular at the advance teleconferences, expounding on his love See ORCHESTRA, Page 11D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 11

Orchestra Continued from Page 10D

for Christmas. His family have kept the Winter Tour shows going.

When O’Neill founded TSO he had Christmas in mind from the very beginning and acknowledged a fascination with Christmas since growing up in New York City as one of 10 siblings.

Playing a classical-rock mix inspired by bands such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer and combining that with a holiday theme, TSO found itself on the right track.

O’Neill had recalled presenting his plans to the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun for a three-album Christmas trilogy.

Ertegun had asked, ”‘Why a trilogy about Christmas?’” O’Neill said he replied, “Dickens wrote fi ve books about Christmas, and when one of your predecessors asked Charles Dickens why he wrote fi ve books about Christmas, he said, ‘Christmas is too large a subject to take on in one book.’ I said, ‘Ahmet, too large for Dickens in one book, too large for me in one album, and I’m going to break it into three.’ ” Pitrelli and Plate said that before his death O’Neill was planning to bring “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” back on tour.

“Yes, this is my favorite show,” Plate said.

“I’ve said all along, I think this story is really the star of the show.

This is what kept bringing people back every year, was when people connected with the story and realized it’s about them. It’s about everybody. This is just how people, just word of mouth, kept coming back. These audiences kept building every year. This … (was) our fi rst venture with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories,’ so this has a lot of meaning. It’s very special for all of us. The songs, the story, everybody about it, I think is fantastic. “ Pitrelli said “As I get a little bit older these songs become a little more important to me, and I relate very deeply to the story. Then what I noticed was everybody in the audience was relating, too, because … everybody misses somebody. With Paul’s story, what it brings to everyone’s attention is at least you’re not alone in that thought. It doesn’t take away the pain or the worry as a parent or whatever, but at least you know that the person sitting next to you is having the exact same thought, and you can fi nd a little bit of solace in that I think, or at least I can.”

One of O’Neill’s fi rst musical forays was with a prog-rock band named Slowburn. It fi zzled in the recording studio, but O’Neill made contacts that helped him learn the recording and concert business.

Later, he was producer for the heavy-metal band Savatage, and the idea for TSO began to develop with O’Neill and two of its members — Pitrelli and composer and multi-instrumentalist John Oliva — along with well-known session keyboardist Bob Kinkel. Plate, a drummer for Savatage, joined up as well.

Plate had lived in Worcester in the early 1980s, playing for a cover band.

“We were fortunate to be working with Paul O’Neill when he created this thing,” Plate said.

“We were all trained by Paul … he’s always right,” said Pitrelli.

Pitrelli and Plate were asked at the teleconference if they can still fi nd the passion for performing the show.

“When you love something, you love it,” Pitrelli said. “When you get it back in your hands, you cherish it that much more. I just love it so much, I’ll never get tired looking down at the smiles.”

“We all wondered if that last show in 2020 was the last show,” Plate said. “This is the real deal and this is what we do, and I can’t wait to get back.”

TSO said that once again a portion of every ticket sold will benefi t select local charities. To date, more than $16 million has been distributed from TSO to charities across North America.

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12 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY VOICES LANDGREN YOU CAN’T PLOW SNOW REMOTELY!

WORCESTERIA

FIRST PERSON

Visiting mi abuelo Frankie Franco Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

So … I fi nally mustered up the energy to spend time with mi abuelo. He’s an old fashioned machismo man, meaning it’s diffi cult for him to express love and aff ection, especially with family. As a young boy he showed me an abundance of love because it was safe to do so because of my age. He cared for me, bought me what I wanted, and spent quality time. As I got older though, the love slowly began to fade. During my recent visits, I will hug, kiss, and say “I love you,” but his response will be “me too” instead of “I love you too.” He then will leave me alone in his apartment, while he sat in his room watching novelas. This bothered and hurt because I

wanted to hear and feel loved by him like when I was a boy.

However, it’s not his fault.

His father was abusive and had a reputation of being mean and cold. This was the male fi gure that raised mi abuelo during a time when toxic masculinity was the norm. Toxic masculinity wasn’t even a phrase and it was simply being a “man.”

Men were forced to swallow their emotions and project a tough exterior for the world.

I should not take it personally that mi abuelo behaves this way and I also should not expect him to know how I would like to receive love from him. People show love in their own way and I should have taken the time to learn his love language because he’s using limited tools at his See VISITING, Page 13D

District 5 city council candidate Gregory Stratman campaigns at Worcester State University.

ALLAN JUNG/TELEGRAM&GAZETTE

Lessons learned from the Worcester election Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

One is forced to wonder if the results of the Nov. 2 Worcester City Council and School Committee elections signifi ed some sort of cultural shift in Worcester. After all, as Telegram & Gazette reporter Steve Foskett points out ably in his article, “Five takeaways from the City Council race: making history, crunching numbers,” the city did not fall prey to “national projections of a conservative

backlash across the nation,” and indeed, most of the more conservative-leaning members of the Council who held onto their seats did so by the skin of their teeth. They’re not fools, and most of them have coasted to re-election before, so they’re probably looking long and hard at where things went wrong.

If one were to conjecture, one might be forced to reckon with the fact that this was one of the dirtiest, most personally vicious elections in recent memory, one rife with racist dog whistles, homo-

phobia, misogyny and just out-and-out meanness, and to Worcester’s credit, the city didn’t buy it, and indeed, even the candidates standing next to the toxicity suffered for it. Which brings us to the fi rst lesson from this election: Be very careful who you stand next to. If one were to look at the gubernatorial election in Virginia, Republican winner Glenn Youngkin made very certain to distance himself from former President Donald See ELECTION, Page 13D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 13

Election Continued from Page 12D

Trump, because Trump and his brand of belligerent politics were unpopular there. It was a winning strategy. By not standing next to Trump, Democratic challenger Terry McAuliff e was unable to paint him with the same brush. In Worcester, it was not uncommon to see signs for candidates who lost or underperformed all bundled together, and it’s hard not to see a connection.

Which brings us to our second lesson: Belligerent political styles didn’t work, and probably won’t in the near future. It’s easy to get fooled into thinking there’s a huge amount of support for the “own the libs” brand of conservatism one sees on Facebook posts, but it is, as they say in Texas, all hat, no cattle.

There were a lot of small “c” conservative voters who

Visiting Continued from Page 12D

disposal. If I learned this sooner, I would have had more time to learn ways to give him love and receive love in a way that is comfortable for him. Since mi abuelo is my last living grandparent, I have the urge to express all the love I can while he’s still here to experience it.

It’s never too late though.

This time around, I tried something diff erent by recollecting the ways in which he currently shows love and I realized it’s in acts of service.

My grandfather says I love you by cooking food. Each time I visited he would off er to make chicken soup. So when I

could have been swayed by the keywords “support for the police,” “lower residential tax rate,” but were turned off when they saw them couched among what many perceived as racist dog whistles, straight-up homophobia, attacks on single mothers and attacks on people’s families.

Honestly, the bulk of Worcester’s population is largely apolitical, but if cornered, they’d probably see themselves as mildly liberal with a conservative streak. They can be swayed by conservative arguments, but are turned off by hate speech, belligerence and cruelty. When they see associates of a candidate posting an illustration of the mayor done up as Hitler, they’re going to get turned off .

Speaking of which, this is the point where some says that a candidate can’t be responsible for their supporters online or third-party PACs that send cringe-worthy mailers. This is true, but this is also the third lesson: Lead-

arrived, I intentionally asked him to make his famous soup, while letting him know how much I enjoy it. This made him happy to hear and there was an extra warmness as he served me a bowl.

Also, instead of waiting for him to create space for quality time, I went out of my way to do what he enjoys. I later treated him to dinner at a Dominican restaurant and afterwards we went back to his room to watch the World Series game. He has mentioned his fondness for baseball, so I took the time to learn the sport to be able to converse with him about it. This led me to ask more intimate/personal questions about his life growing up in the Dominican Republic and the political climate of the time. Surprising-

ership means taking responsibility for what’s done in your name. If you can’t inspire people to act with dignity on your behalf, perhaps you should question whether politics is the right career path.

You can’t benefi t from negative attacks and walk away unscathed when they backfi re.

In this year’s election, only 17% or so of registered voters came out for the election, and the left was pretty energized, so that means a large chunk of moderates and even conservatives stayed home. Sure, some of that is off -year election apathy, but if I were one of the more conservative candidates, I’d be thinking long and hard about why that support wasn’t there, especially if it’s been there in the past.

That’s lesson four: Turnout matters. Indeed, in politics, turnout is everything. The other side of that is lesson fi ve: Know who it is that’s turning out.

It’s a tad too early yet to

have a thorough breakdown of who voted by demographic, either overall or in particular districts, but those results are going to be very interesting. There is an anecdotal sense right now that the traditional Old Worcester power structure doesn’t exist in the same way that it once did, and that minority and traditionally underrepresented communities have become both better organized and have developed more fi nancially stable middle classes, which is a winning combination for political infl uence. Moreover, there’s also a sense that there are a lot of new voters in town, many of whom are young and have moved here for the still relatively aff ordable housing and job opportunities. There’s every reason to believe that group would trend liberal, and if they’re voting in a municipal election, that’s a sign that they don’t see themselves as just passing through, that

Worcester isn’t just a liminal space to them.

That sense of personal investment is key to the city’s political future, which brings us to our sixth lesson from this year’s municipal election: Lead with inclusion. Attacks meant to divide the voting population, especially on racial lines, failed miserably this election, whereas candidates who stressed community involvement in decisionmaking faired extremely well.

Just a few weeks ago, that was a tactic that had some old guard political observers shaking their heads, but now, in hindsight, it seems it was the right move: That voters across the city were feeling as though they had no voice in the political making process, at a time that has seen seismic change across the city.

Candidates who recognized that, and spoke to it, were rewarded, whereas those who didn’t were either cut loose or given a fairly clear warning for their political futures.

My grandfather says I love you by cooking food. Each time I visited he would offer to make chicken soup. So when I arrived, I intentionally asked him to make his famous soup, while letting him know how much I enjoy it. This made him happy to hear and there was an extra warmness as he served me a bowl. Also, instead of waiting for him to create space for quality time, I went out of my way to do what he enjoys. I later treated him to dinner at a Dominican restaurant and afterwards we went back to his room to watch the World Series game. ly, he was very open and seemed proud that I even asked to share these memories.

I learned so much about Dominican history, mi abuelo’s life, and how to receive love from him. The experi-

ence taught me it’s okay to get out of my own comfort zone and enter someone else’s to learn and receive something in return. Also, that everyone expresses love diff erently and to avoid feeling personally slighted or hurt if it’s not in a

way you want to receive love.

If one approach doesn’t work, there are other approaches. I feel proud of myself and mi abuelo. Our relationship is stronger because I set an intention and shifted my expectations.

14 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

OUR 2021 HOLIDAY HANDBOOK!

Holiday events return to the slate this year Stephanie Jarvis Campbell Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many of the region’s beloved holiday events to be canceled last year, local venues, theaters and businesses are looking forward to the return of in-person performances and events for the 2021 season.

Theaters were one the hardest hit by the pandemic, and that included the Hanover, where its popular staging of “A Christmas Carol” was reinvented last year as a fi lmed theatrical production and then available on-demand. This year, “A Christmas Carol” has been reinvigorated again, with new casting to refl ect and promote the culture of equity, according to Lisa K. Condit, Hanover’s vice president of communications. David Sitler, who was recently in the national tour of Broadway’s “Frost/Nixon,” is playing Scrooge for Hanover’s production.

Said Annie Kerins, who plays Mrs. Fezziwig and is also the associate director/choreographer, “Many of my family and friends have made ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Hanover Theatre an annual tradition. I’m most looking forward to that indescribable feeling of connecting with a room full of 2,000-plus audience members, along with a stage team of 50 incredibly gifted humans and sharing a synchronized moment to refl ect on a powerful piece of literature and theater.

I’m fully expecting to break down in tears after the fi rst show.”

Performances start Dec. 15 and run through Dec. 23, with a relaxed version Dec. 19.

The Hanover’s “Nutcracker” — which was only presented as an-house recital for the conservatory students last year — will return to the stage Nov. 26-28 with a brand-new set and a live orchestra. That will be followed by Sarah Brightman’s “A Christmas Symphony” on Dec. 1, the Boston Pops Holiday Tour on Dec. 3 and “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical” on Dec. 6.

For more information and tickets, visit www.thehanovertheatre.org. All theater-goers must wear a mask, regardless

of vaccination status, and those 12 and older must present proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test. Children under 12 may attend with a vaccinated adult or present a negative test when accompanied by an unvaccinated adult.

Mechanics Hall also has several off erings this year. The National Center of Afro-American Artists will present Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” on Nov. 27, and the Worcester Chorus’ performance of “Handel’s Messiah” — last year limited to an on-demand fi lm — will return to the stage on Dec. 4 and also off er a live stream as well. A Worcester Organ concert will be presented on Dec. 8, and the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra will host its 41st annual Holiday Pops Concert, a crowd favorite. Dance Prism will bring its version of “The Nutcracker” to Mechanics Hall on Dec. 12, the Worcester Children’s Chorus and “Baroque & Beyond” is scheduled for Dec. 18, and the festivities will close out with the Worcester Youth Orchestra’s annual Family Holiday Concert on Dec. 19.

Like at the Hanover, all visitors to Mechanics Hall must wear a mask and be fully vaccinated, or show proof of a negative COVID test. For more information, visit www.mechanicshall.org. (Please note that Music Worcester requires that the audience be fully vaccinated for its concerts on Dec. 4 and Dec. 19.)

The city of Worcester will hold its annual Festival of Lights, which returns to the common this year, on Friday, Dec. 3, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. It will be an in-person event featuring a visit from Santa Claus, musical performances, food, face painting, ice skating on the oval and the lighting of the tree.

For 14 nights in December — Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — Old Sturbridge Village will celebrate its “Christmas by Candlelight.” While last year’s event was smaller and only outdoors, “we’re excited to bring back what people know Christmas at Candlelight to be,” said Rhys Simmons, director of interpretation.

For this year’s event, beginning on Dec. 3, the Village will open some of its buildings for various activities. The Salem Town House will showcase recreat-

“The Nutcracker” will return to the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE NYMAN

ed holiday décor from the 1800s, the Cratchit Christmas dinner will be prepared at the Bixby House and, for the fi rst time ever, the Freeman House will be open during Christmas at Candlelight.

In addition, the event will feature the Christmas Tree Trail, visits with Santa Claus, readings of classic Christmas stories, costumed interpreters, magicians, the gingerbread house contest and a holiday meal in the tavern. Returning is the tree-lighting ceremony, which wasn’t held last year due to the pandemic.

Last year, even with restrictions, the event attracted approximately 20,000 people — down from its biggest year in 2019, when 27,000 came through the Village’s gates. “People like it because it’s an immersive experience,” Simmons said.

“At the holidays, you really like to be immersed and be transported, whether it’s to friends’ and families’ houses, or watch a comfortable movie every year at home.

Christmas at Candlelight has become that to so many people. It’s become part of their traditions.”

Tickets must be purchased in advance, as the Village will be following capacity limits. Discounted tickets are available until Nov. 26; see https:// www.osv.org/event/christmas-by-candlelight-2021/.

Two popular Chain of Lights events — Sutton’s on Saturday, Dec. 4, and Millbury’s on Sunday, Dec. 5 — will return after being canceled last year. Although certain aspects have changed, the committees are looking forward to welcoming visitors to their towns.

Some of the vendors and businesses, for example, are “reimagining what they’re off ering, just to make it more COVID-friendly,” said Heather Trudell, a member of the Millbury Chain of Lights Committee. “They’re trying to do more outdoor activities, so people feel more comfortable.”

Asa Waters Mansion will not host any indoor events, as it usually does, but will instead have Santa and Mrs. Claus outdoors for photo opportunities. At 4:30 p.m., the mansion will host the traditional tree-lighting ceremony.

To help socially-distance the various activities, the committee plans to block off a couple of the downtown streets. To date, approximately 25 businesses and organizations, including a few new ones, have signed up to participate in the Chain of Lights, which has been celebrated for more than 20 years. Old-fashioned trolleys will be available to take See EVENTS, Page 19D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 15

‘Xmas Lights’: A poem by Joe Fusco Jr. Joe Fusco Jr. Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It was a tough day at work.

Had yelled and been yelled at.

It was raining hard as I drove home.

Was really looking forward to seeing the Xmas decorations we had set up the previous day.

The reindeer and sleigh, the snowman, the Santa Claus, the trees and hedges all lit up and glistening.

As I turned on our street, the front yard was dark…death dark… not a trace of brightness in sight.

I was confused. Everything worked when my son-in-law set it up Sunday afternoon.

I opened the control panel and hit the Reset button. The lights came on then off in a fl ash. Repeated this procedure a few times with the same dire results.

I unplugged all the decorations then

plugged them back in. Like I do when anything technical doesn’t work. Nothing.

I knocked on my neighbor’s door whose gaudy display of decorations was showboating across the street and asked if he drained all the energy out of my front-yard. He looked at me confused.

I started talking to the reindeer then the snowman then fi nally Santa explaining I had a bad day and really needed their glistening. They remained mute.

I called my son-in-law with tears in my voice as he calmly explained that the rain probably screwed up something temporarily and things would be fi ne the next day.

Next day, the Winter sun shone. My decorations dried out and played out their splendid roles in our front-yard pageantry that evening.

All was calm. All was bright.

FOLKS LI KE E M O S to think ABOUT THE FUTURE. We like to help them PLAN FOR IT. countrybank.com MEMBER FDIC | MEMBER DIF

Children look on in wonder at a Christmas display at Worcester home in 2011.

BETTY JENEWIN/T&G FILE

16 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Get festive with Charcuterie Woo this holiday season Barbara M. Houle Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Here we go again.

It’s time to bring out the holiday recipes from appetizers and desserts to main courses and sides. This time around make things a little easier on yourself and round out your holiday spread with a food trend that’s fueled social media for the past year or so, thanks to COVID-19.

We’re talking charcuterie, but not just meat and cheese. Charcuterie isn’t new to social gatherings as caterers, restaurants and other food businesses have provided platters and boards for years. These days, charcuterie is more a creative explosion, redefi ning it with the addition of new ingredients. It’s all about improvising and having fun with colors, textures and fl avors.

Kerry Dwyer of Charcuterie Woo is among local artisans who provide charcuterie boards not only for holidays and special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, but also date nights. She pulls out all the stops for the holiday season with fabulous charcuterie holiday wreaths.

An ICU nurse at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Dwyer of Paxton started her business after making charcuterie boards for at-home date nights with her husband, Tom. “It was during COVID-19 when we decided we needed something diff erent and fun,” said Dwyer. “We were at home during lockdown with our two young children and Mondays became our date night.”

She later made a Valentine’s charcuterie board for her sister and posts of her eye-catching design and ingredients attracted attention not only from Instagram and Facebook followers but also businesses like Agronomy Farm Vineyard in Oakham, Seven Saws Brewing in Holden and Sail to Trail WineWorks in Worcester inviting the couple to teach charcuterie workshops.

In July, Dwyer’s Summer Tuscan Charcuterie was paired with one of Agronomy’s newest red wines for a sold- out workshop. A class at Worcester Public Market on a day it was closed to the public drew a large crowd of charcuterie enthusiasts. Charcuterie Woo also has a Board of Month Club with a

Kerry Dwyer, owner of Charcuterie Woo on Nov. 3. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

variety of themes. Sign up for six months for either a small board that serves 1 to 2, or a larger size for 5 to 6.

More information about ordering and pickup for charcuterie is on Instagram (@charcuterie_ woo), or send email to charcuteriewoo@gmail.com.

FYI: You can book a private charcuterie party for 20 to 50 people. Great holiday gift idea! Dwyer uses wooden boards and eco-friendly palm leaf plates for her charcuterie. Customers often tell her that their appetizer charcuterie became dinner with a glass of wine, she said.

A new trend is the kid-friendly charcuterie board for birthdays and other special kid events, said Dwyer, who also customizes canine charcuterie boards with safe food for dogs. During college, Dwyer worked for her aunt, Paula Mc-

Carthy, chef/owner of the former Zia Grill on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.

She is the daughter of Jim and Rosemary Marshall of Worcester. Dwyer credits her mother, an artist, for her “creative “path. Tom (Thomas) Dwyer works in tech sales and is a local standup comedian. He said his wife’s creativity is both amazing and impressive.

“I never imagined that one day I would be beside her teaching charcuterie workshops and talking recipes,” said Tom Dwyer. “But it’s fun, and we both really enjoy meeting people.” He is the son of retired Worcester Firefi ghter Tom (Thomas) Dwyer and Anne Dwyer of Auburn.

To help kickoff the holiday season, Kerry Dwyer shares a recipe for a Pecan Pie Goat Cheese roll. Great tasting and simple prep!

Pecan pie goat cheese 5-ounce log plain goat cheese ⁄ 4 cup crushed pecans

1

⁄ 2 tablespoon brown sugar

1

⁄ 2 graham cracker, crushed

1

Combine pecans, brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs and spread evenly on parchment paper. Roll goat cheese in mixture until evenly covered.

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, Dwyer’s tip is to cut the cheese using unflavored dental floss for a clean perfect round.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 17

Need gifts for a middle schooler? Our guide Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

As a middle school librarian and teacher in Worcester, I can attest to just how quickly the dial of desire moves for our tweens. One day Silly Bands or Fidget Spinners are in, and the next, they’re out. Rest assured, some things never change. Take for example, the elusive Air Jordan, which has held its ground since 1985.

Read on to fi nd this season’s hottest holiday requests.

The Gamer According to my sources, the PS5 is king when it comes to consoles, while Nintendo Switch Lite is preferred for handheld play. Kids who love PC gaming are eager to get their hands on a nice mouse like the G502 Hero or a gaming chair like the X Rocker Surge.

Video game gift cards and game passes for in-game purchases are also in high demand this holiday season. My young gamers are especially excited to play "Minecraft," "Super Smash Bros," "Animal Crossing," "Roblox," "Genshin Impact," "Fortnite," "NBA 2K21" and Apex Legends.

The Artsy Kid Art supplies remain timeless among the kids who hang out in the arts and music wing.

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, copic sketch markers and Blackwing Pencils are the most coveted brands. Musical tickets are also a fan favorite — "Hamilton" in particular. Bonus points for the Cricut EasyPress to screen print custom T-shirts that say something like, “I am not throwing away my shot.” Graphic novels are particularly popular at the moment. Manga fl ies off the shelves of my library. I cannot keep "My Hero Academia" or "Naruto" in stock. I also get a

Sony’s PS5 consoles. SONY

Gifts for artists: Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils AMAZON

lot of requests for "Attack on Titan" and anything Marvel.

The TikToker

Polaroid Camera Mandalorian Edition POLAROID Right: The iPhone 13 APPLE

Nearly every TikTok obsessed teen and tween I spoke with mentioned the iPhone 13, which includes some serious fi lm school features like “Cinematic Mode.”

LED lights are still prevalent among many creators. AirPods and ring lights are also something of necessity for fans of the app. TikTok has many sides for all ages and interests, but no matter where your child lands, from dancer to comedian, they can’t go wrong sporting a pair of Air Force 1s.

range for your budget. Follow Erin’s page on Facebook for updates and opportunities: @friendlyhousewishlist.

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The Old Soul I was surprised how many kids simply wanted a basketball or an over the door minihoop for the holidays. Nerf guns were also a big hit. Polaroid cameras held a great deal of intrigue for their enduring analog capacities in an increasingly digital world. Just remember, the fi lm is the most expensive part.

If you don’t have a middle schooler to buy for this holiday season, Erin Jansky organizes a Friendly House Holiday Wish List every year to support local families in need. Browse a simple registry and choose from a variety of gifts at a comfortable price

Worcester Center Hill Apts 503-505 Mill St. ...The Tatnuck area’s newest apartment homes. large 1 & 2 BR, W/D in each apt, storage, elevator, heat & hot water included. Nice walking area. No pets.

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18 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

5 local records from this year to give as a gift Robert Duguay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s always better to shop local and that’s a fact. Supporting a small business rather than a corporate conglomerate does better for the local economy because the money is going directly to the business owner rather than being tied up in numerous subsidiaries. The same goes for supporting local musicians and artists. When you buy their record or single, they get the money directly from you and it’s the most gratifying way to let a creative person know that their work has value. This holiday season, please consider shopping local and supporting Worcester’s music scene by purchasing one of these records for your music-loving loved one:

Zigmont

Danny Fantom & Nu Element — “Fantom Menace” For over a decade, Danny Fantom has been a fi xture in Worcester hip-hop while collaborating with full-fl edged bands and record-spinning DJs. His fourth album, which came out on Halloween, has him working with producer Nu Element for a “Star Wars”-inspired record. There aren’t any mind tricks present in this, just rhythmic rhymes and really cool beats accented with horn samples. The likes of Jafet Muzic, Laz, Death Over Simplicity and Graffi ti Fresh also feature on various tracks among others. I personally love the vintage vibe that’s present, any fan of hip-hop’s golden age during the ‘80s and ‘90s can appreciate this. https://dannyfantom.bandcamp.com/album/fantom-menace

Charleston & The Chews — “Crack ‘Em Up” EP It’s always enjoyable when an upand-coming act possesses an old school sound and that’s defi nitely apparent in Charleston & The Chews’ new EP that came out on Oct. 1. There’s a mix of groovy tones and Motown soul that makes for a laid back listening experience. It’s not a cookie cutter approach, there’s some grit going on that keeps it all honest. You also have to appreciate the fact that the record has fl uglehorns

Danny Fantom PROVIDED PHOTOS

Piqued

and fl utes being played on it. Not every band can say that, but then again, not every band is like these guys and it’s exciting to see what the future holds for them. https://charlestonandthechews.bandcamp.com/album/crackem-up

Piqued — “Out From Under” EP There’s a lot going on within Piqued’s second EP, which was was released Sept. 10. Tim Sullivan’s drumming has a fast pace while anchoring the rhythms, and the guitars from Chace Petinelli and Kyle Donnelly walk the fi ne line between sounding glossy and rigid. It’s a pure alternative rock sound with a ton of energy being exuded. The lyrics from

Lilo Churchill are also intensely personal while exhibiting a fantastic vocal range. Unfortunately, Piqued broke up back on Oct. 9, which is a huge bummer, but you can help their legacy to live on by buying a copy of the record. https://piquedma.bandcamp.com/ album/out-from-under

Hard Target — “Relive. Rebuild.”

You can’t have a list of Worcester music without something loud being included and this is where Hard Target’s “Relive. Rebuild.” comes in. To say this record is intense is a vast understatement. There’s a ton of emphasis in each song and it’s all up front with everything. It’s genuine hardcore punk with hints of thrash metal included and the volume is up to the max. This album that came out back on May 14 is ideal for that fun loving, mosh-pitting headbanger in

your life. https://gluemanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/relive-rebuild

Zigmont — “Zigmont Speaks” I’m a sucker for weird prog music and Zigmont defi nitely fi lls that role. There’s a ton of vocal harmonies fl owing from both guitarist Jacob Leevai and bassist Nicholas Chiancola in their debut album that came out on March 26. Akiba Davis is the glue that holds the music together on both drums and the keys. If you’re a sucker for this kind of stuff like myself, you should defi nitely buy this album either for yourself or a close friend so you can listen to it often. If you simply like good music or know someone who does, then you should buy this album as a gift as well. https://zigmont.bandcamp.com/album/zigmont-speaks

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 19

Events

a week, weather permitting.

“It will take us the month of November to put it up, and that’s Continued from Page 14D working from sunup to sundown,” Weikel said. visitors to the various points When the Weikels fi rst met, along the route.

Denise would set up a small “Hopefully people will feel Christmas display in her yard, comfortable participating. We and with her birthday being in just want to bring it back. It was late November, she would often sad not to have it last year,” said get more decorations for preTrudell, who encouraged people sents. That led to larger displays, to check the event’s Facebook and word of mouth spread; now, page (https://www.face- on a given night, they can have book.com/millburychaino3,000 people or more marveling fl ights) for updates. at their holiday spirit.

Like Millbury, Sutton’s Chain The Leicester Christmas of Lights is experiencing some Lights has been running for changes, but the committee is about 30 years, with the excepthrilled to be hosting the event tion of last season, when the after last year’s cancellation. Weikels decided not to because “We had decided because of CO- of the pandemic and due to the VID-19, we couldn’t run it suc- large crowds that the display atcessfully,” said Janet Gerard, tracts. This year, they’re again committee chair. This year, looking forward to welcoming though, “I think the town is very people, and, as always, it is free much looking forward to it. I to walk through the display. The think people are very excited Weikels do set out a donation about it. Every day, we’re still box, but then that money is funadding things.” neled back into the community To be held beginning at 10 and to charitable organizations. a.m., the Chain of Lights will “I’m adamant my wife and I feature about 20 stops through- pay for the expenses, including out town, with various activities electricity. It’s really important and events, including the tree- to me that the money we raise lighting on the common at 5 goes to charity,” said Weikel, p.m. The committee is also host- who noted that the Leicester ing the Light Up Sutton home Christmas Lights is now a 501c3 decorating contest, and the fi nal organization. day of voting will coincide with “I’m pretty proud of what we the Chain of Lights. do down here,” he said, adding A combination of trolleys that the neighbors love it as well. and buses will follow two “It’s for the kids, and just to see routes, stopping at the various the joy and excitement.” tour locations, but, Gerard said, Once the display is set up, it “We are encouraging people if will be open 5 to 9 p.m. weekthey feel uncomfortable to drive nights and 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, to the sites.” In addition, she Saturdays and Sundays. Check noted that for the safety of the https://www.facebook.com/ volunteers, anyone riding the LeicesterChristmasLights for buses or trolleys, and in certain updates and more information, other places, visitors will be including for when Santa makes asked to wear masks. For up- his appearances. dates on the route and events, The 24th annual Festival of visit https://suttonchaino- (Giving) Trees at the La Salle Refl ights.weebly.com/ or https:// ception Center in Southbridge www.facebook.com/Suttonreturns its full four-day lineup ChainofLights. complete with raffl es and enterIn Leicester, Scott Weikel and tainment, from Dec. 3-6. Despite his wife, Denise, are busy pre- being online only last year, “we paring their property at 25 raised over $40,000,” said BrenWaite St. for more than 500 da Lacaire, committee chair.

Christmas lights and 200-plus “We were able to donate $11,500 infl atables that will then be to each of our benefi ciaries, and open to the public seven nights we have three of them. It was ex-

citing to watch it happen.”

Proceeds from the festival benefi t the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, the Silent Spring Institute and the Cancer Center at Harrington Hospital to help fund breast cancer research. The event has been run by a team of all volunteers ever since it began, Lacaire said.

This year’s event is a combination of in-person, where the hall will be transformed into a collection of sparkling decorated trees, all to be raffl ed off to some lucky winners, and a virtual event as well. About 50 trees are registered to date, and Lacaire said the committee is doing a special raffl e this year in memory of Gunnar Bjorkland, a committee member for 12 years who died in February. He had been an EMT for Webster EMS and the Charlton Fire Department and at age 23 started his own business, Interesting Logistics Inc. To honor his memory, the committee also will award the fi rst-ever Gunnar

A scene from the 2019 performance of “A Christmas Carol” at the Hanover Theatre. COURTESY OF SCOTT ERB AND DONNA DUFAULT

Bjorkland Young Entrepreneur Scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to a high school senior.

Masks will be required at the event. For more information and to see the full schedule, visit www.sparklingtrees.com.

Night Lights at Tower Hill Botanic Garden returns from Nov. 26 through Dec. 30. Guests of all ages will stroll through roughly 15 acres of formal gardens and surrounding woodlands, including illuminated

plants, paths, sculptures, and fountains. The magical scene is enhanced with a concession stand with s’mores kits for using by the warm fi re pits.

Visitors must pre-purchase tickets for the after-hours event through www.towerhillbg.org.

Masks are required indoors.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden is located at 11 French Drive, Boylston. For more information, call (508) 869-6111.

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20 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY LIVING TABLE HOPPIN’

Christopher Rovezzi gets back to roots Barbara Houle Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Christopher (Chris) Rovezzi is back in the kitchen, having opened his new restaurant, Villa Sophia, in Brimfi eld on Oct. 8.

The chef has generated plenty of buzz with the launch of the restaurant, and he’s upfront about turning a corner in his career. Villa Sophia (named after his daughter) is his new brand, he said, and not Rovezzi’s restaurant. He’s ada-

mant about it.

“I am very appreciative of the strong support of loyal customers and the town of Brimfi eld that I have the opportunity to do what I love to do,” said Rovezzi.

“I’m back to my roots.”

There’s no denying the chef ’s career path has taken twists and turns. His restaurant Rovezzi’s Ristorante in Sturbridge had a pipe burst in 2019, reportedly causing “catastrophic water damage” that eventually led to the restaurant being closed for good. Rovezzi said after foreclosure the restaurant went on

the auction block. Today, there’s a for sale sign on the front lawn of the building at 2 School St. Rovezzi said he has no ties to the property. “It’s over,” he said. His fi rst restaurant (Rovezzi’s) opened in early 2000 and was located in back of the Sturbridge Country Inn. “No sign and you couldn’t see it from the street,” said Rovezzi, explaining that about a year later he made the move to the larger space on School Street.

At one time he also owned restaurants by the same name in Worcester

and Rutland. Rovezzi said he wasn’t looking to open another restaurant but that during a drive through Brimfi eld he spotted a sign in a window of the vacant building that once housed a pizza business and a diner.

“I stopped, looked at the place and called the number. I met with the owner the next day.”

He said he had worked other jobs after the Sturbridge restaurant closed. He was food and beverage manager at the See HOPPIN, Page 22D

THE NEXT DRAFT

Expansion ferries River Styx Brewing higher Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

FITCHBURG – That morose ferryman of the dead Charon will need a bigger boat now that River Styx Brewing Co. has fi nished its fi rst major expansion.

The four-year-old brewery has more than doubled its brewing capacity with renovations to its 10-barrel brewhouse, hiring new brewers and truck drivers with the goal of expanding distribution to the entire state.

Known for boozy IPAs, heavy, barrelaged stouts and striking can art that leans heavily on Greek mythology, River Styx has never brewed a lager. That will change thanks to the expansion, with the 166 Boulder Road brewery adding a lager program. Its fi rst, “Lantern Lager,” hits shelves soon.

In all, River Styx will release nine beers into distribution, including its fi rst single IPA, “Hercules,” as well as hard seltzers and new riff s on its milkshake IPA series, “Nectar of the Gods.”

Bouncing up and down in the newlyrenovated brewhouse, a visibly excited Jackie Cullen, co-founder, told me River

Styx had spent its existence brewing beer in what amounted to an unfi nished space. Cullen and her husband, Scott, the head brewer, always wanted to complete the brewery – once a General Electric steam turbine factory – but needed more clarity on their future in the industry.

“For the fi rst two or three years, we were trying to fi gure out if we want to run a brewery for the rest of our lives. Do we like this? What do we want to make?

Will people like the products we want to make?” she said.

Meanwhile, they created some of the most tantalizing stouts in the state, poured in a taproom so spellbinding you have to see it for yourself.

Now, they want to share their beer with more of the state. “We’re hoping more distribution drives even more people to the taproom,” Cullen said. “We’re prepared for that. We have 186 seats indoors, 150 outdoors.”

The transformation of River Styx’s brewhouse has been stunning. Fresh paint covers the walls aside a new storage room and break room. Gleaming when the sun pours in, 10 towering 20barrel tanks stand against the tall front

Jackie Cullen of River Styx Brewing oversees the delivery of new fermenters and tanks Nov. 1. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

windows. The work has been funded in part through a MassDevelopment loan.

The extra tanks allow River Styx to brew more than double the beer it makes now, requiring two shifts running fi ve days a week in the brewhouse.

And the extra brewing capacity frees

up room for experimentation, starting with lagers and pilsners.

“We know a lot of people may stay away from the brewery because they see all our double and triple IPAs and heavy See DRAFT, Page 28D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 21

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Nedret Andre Nedret Andre Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

gate climate change. In her paintings, she allows for the marks and the colors to form her compositions. Each painting starts very fl uid and develops as she continues working on the piece.

Andre uses washes of diluted oil paint to mimic water and layers opaque paint as she works through her abstract compositions. Andre’s solo shows have included: Beacon Gallery, Chashama Spaces NY, Copley Square Hotel’s Art Square Gallery, FP3 Gallery, Enso Gallery, Hess Gallery, Artlery, Boston University, and Stetson Gallery. To see more of Andre’s work, visit her website, https://www.nedretandre.com.

Nedret Andre is a contemporary artist in Boston’s SOWA district. Her abstract art focuses on ocean life within seagrass habitats. The inspiration for her gestural paintings come from being out in the fi eld with scientists and helping with seagrass restoration eff orts in Massachusetts. She received her BFA in Painting at Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA from Maine College of Art. Her art brings light to the important role seagrass plays in our ocean’s health. She is fascinated with it’s role of being home to thousands of species, its ability to provide “Between Sky and Water,” oil on canvas us with oxygen, to its ability to miti- NEDRET ANDRE/ARTSWORCESTER

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22 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Hoppin’ Continued from Page 20D

International Club in Bolton when it went belly up, he said, and did other stints that included Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfi eld.

Rovezzi considers Villa Sophia with eight tables his “dream job.” At this time in his life he wouldn’t have it any other way, he said. The small restaurant enables the chef to focus on the quality of food and service. It’s a far cry from his other restaurants that accommodated not only more diners, but also special parties and large events. And the new spot is BYOB. Rovezzi plans to stay that way, commenting that “customers love the BYOB concept.”

Rovezzi has hired an assistant cook, two servers, a host and a dishwasher.

He said he does all his own prep and continues to make all the pastas featured on his menu. His homemade focaccia bread is classic Italian. I couldn’t resist asking him what makes the bread recipe so special because I continue to hear people rave about it. Even the Telegram & Gazette photographer on assignment remarked about how delicious the bread is.

Rovezzi’s answer was that he makes the bread fresh every day and has no leftovers. “I have no idea why it tastes diff erent,” he said. File under professional secret to how it’s made. As for the restaurant’s menu, it’s a “work in progress,” with weekly menus and update postings on Facebook. Recently, the chef ’s menu boasted handmade pappardelle with home-cooked Bolognese; Cavatelli, roast butternut, crumbled sausage, dried cranberries, herb cream; Pan-seared salmon, roasted acorn squash, sun-dried cranberry risotto; Linguini, shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, spicy Pomodoro; Crispy pan-fried boneless chicken Parmigianno, melted mozzarella, marinara; Crispy pan- fried milk fed veal Parmigianno, melted mozzarella, marinara.

Also, a variety of starters that included Papa Rovezzi’s famous homemade meatballs, melted mozzarella and the Infamous Brussels sprout Caesar salad.

Signature dish? “I don’t think I really have one,” said Rovezzi. “Veal and chicken Parm are favorites with guests.”

Villa Sophia, 17 Main St., Brimfi eld is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Reservations are

Chef Christopher Rovezzi has opened a new restaurant, Villa Sophia, in Brimfi eld. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

highly recommended. Call (413) 2451176. Takeout is available. Call for information about booking a small party on days the restaurant is closed. Connect on social media. Note: The new Villa Sophia does not accept gift cards from the former Rovezzi’s restaurant.

Anyone who has met Rovezzi knows cooking skills run in the family. His father, Joseph Rovezzi Sr., and late mother, Gloria Rovezzi, ran the former Rovezzi’s restaurant on Main Street in Worcester from the late 1970s to 1992. It was recognized as one of the best food spots in the city and a meeting destination for downtown workers, politicians and judges.

Rovezzi’s brother Joey Rovezzi and

his wife, Erika, own and operate Joey’s Bar & Grill in Worcester. Another brother, John Rovezzi, at one time was executive chef at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston. He’s now retired, according to Chris Rovezzi.

At 53, Rovezzi said he’s in an “awesome” situation. “I love being able to spend more time with my family,” he said. “Three days off . I close early every night, getting home at a decent time.

Anyone in the business knows how tough it can get.”

He’s also happy his father, 95, recently visiting from Florida got to see Villa Sophia. “The thing about my father is that since we were kids we know that when he’s not talking about something

specifi c, we know it’s all great. He told me during his visit that I should consider changing the napkins in the restaurant. I can live with that.”

Rovezzi identifi ed linguine with seafood and spicy tomato sauce as one of his father’s all-time favorite dishes. On a wall at Villa Sophia there are framed photos of the original Rovezzi’s in Worcester that surely will stir up fond memories for many diners. Writing about the restaurant in this column, I recalled long lines for a table for both lunch and dinner. It was worth waiting for.

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 23

LISTEN UP

Gene Dante delivers glam rock extravaganza Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

There are two important themes weaving their way through Gene Dante’s newest album with backing band the Future Starlets, “DL/UX”: The pursuit of rock stardom, and the pyrotechnic explosion of dysfunctional relationships.

Sometimes, the threads are pulled so closely together that it’s not entirely clear which theme’s being explored at a given moment, until the listener stops and realizes that Dante’s usually singing about both, the desperation and the heartache of one feeding the other, all of which seems to take a toll on the owner’s persona. Dante tackles all of this with lush vocals, rock ‘n’ roll glamour and a theatrical panache that manages to consistently up the stakes as the album unfolds, starting right out of the gate with the slow burn of the opening number, “Showtime.”

“The Devil’s on the mezzanine,” sings Dante as the album begins, “wrapped in a murder of crows.” The Devil is waiting for the show to begin, and Dante drags out each line, building anticipation. “There won’t be a dry eye,” he sings, “heads will roll, sparks will fl y/before we tear it down/let the curtain rise/it’s showtime.” It’s a short poem of a song, but it deftly sets the stage, so to speak for the listener’s expectations. There will be tears and fi re, but most of all, there will be a show. The song is a fuse, and the explosion comes in the second song, “She’s Outside.” It’s an unrelenting blast of glam rock cool, drums thrashing and guitars squealing, and amid it all, Dante paints an alluring picture: “She’s a glamorous tragedy,” he sings, “Waxed and stitched to perfection/I’m the moth, she’s the fl ame/She’s the spider I’m the fl y/Disempowered & dis-

connection.” This could be a lover, certainly: A passionate aff air that will inevitably end badly. Or it could be rock ‘n’ roll itself, which is much the same. It doesn’t really matter: Either way, the hooks and beat are irresistible, and either way, there’s a slim possibility that it might be worth the likely crash. Is it any wonder that the next song is called “Love Is For Suckers”?

Dante’s vocals are the foundation on which this entire album is built. His voice has a rich, deep tone and his phrasing is impeccably dexterous. He’s able to convey both the surface of a song and its subtext without sacrifi cing either, a trick he pulls off with aplomb in “Love Is For Suckers,” capturing both the literal declaration of independence and the sense that the persona is lying to himself. When he moves on to “High Life,” a song about kicking “psychic vampires” out of your life, the sense of fi nding one’s own sense of self-respect and asserting it is palpable: “It’s high time you leave/take anything you want, but you can’t take me.” Oh, but we’re still in the middle of the album, and by the time we move on to the next song, the moody and plaintive “Beautiful Drag,” it’s clear that the persona’s way forward is hardly in a straight line.

“It’s all such a beautiful drag, an irresistible mess,” sings Dante, “signaling both lust and distress/such a beautiful drag, divine decadence/squander the remainder of my common sense.” Does this seem a back peddle from “High Time”? Maybe, but neither sex nor rock ‘n’ roll are entirely reasonable forces.

Indeed, the album’s persona seems caught in a cycle no sooner than the next song, “Vampire Days,” which fi nds him again pushing negative forces out of his life. Dante’s vocals soar through the song, but even though he sings, “In time, the truth, she slips/Her arm ‘round the protagonist/both friend &

lover, she saved me from defeat,” the listener is left with a lingering doubt. This is, after all, a familiar pattern, one which Dante digs deeper into with the song, “L.I.E. (Do You Wanna).”

This song lives in the pocket of a bass-driven groove, which gives the song a sort of addictive quality. Dante capitalizes on this to create a sort of emotional polarity. “Do you wanna hear a lie?” he sings, “Will it help you feel better?/Does that make it alright?/Do you wanna hear a lie?/Does that make it OK?/Will it help you sleep at night?” By the end of the song, however, Dante shifts from interrogation to declaration, singing, “You can never get the best

Gene Dante and the Future Starlets’ newest album is, “DL/UX.” PHOTO BY THE SECRET BUREAU OF ART & DESIGN

of me/You’re not on my mind/ Not even part of a compiled minor player/in the movie of my life.” Is he lying to himself or the former lover? Maybe both? The only things which resonate honestly are the backbeat and the pain. When things slow

down with the smoky “Whomever You Need,” though, the honesty is apparent: “Whomever you need/he is never me.”

The song is a raw and intensely personal musical moSee DANTE, Page 27D

Thanksgiving Weekend

©Erb Photography

Victor D. Infante

Tickets start at $39.

Sponsored by

©Erb Photography

• Nov 26-28 • TheHanoverTheatre.org Worcester Center for Performing Arts is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

24 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

FIVE THINGS TO DO

TECH N9NE, MERZ TRIO, TOMMY CASTRO AND MORE ....

Richard Duckett and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

The Merz Trio will perform Nov. 12 at the BrixBox Theater at the JMAC. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

‘Bold and fiercely creative’ Tech N9ne will perform Nov. 12 at the Palladium. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

Rap favorite returns Rapper Tech N9ne has been a regular visitor to Worcester for years now, and has developed a loyal following for his shows at the Palladium. Touring now in support of his thickly layered and engaging album, new album, “ASIN9NE.” The rapper seems to be at the top of his game, with fast, tightly wound rhymes highlighted by fierce moments of thunderous bombast. It’s a highly listenable album, one which shows the rapper still has plenty to say. (VDI) What: Tech N9ne with Rittz, King Iso, MAEZ301, Jehry Robinson and Problemattik When: 7 p.m. Nov. 12 Where: The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester How much: $36-$66

Funny Guy Brian Regan went to Heidelberg College in Ohio to study accounting. But once there, Reagan, who had developed a quick wit in a family of eight brothers and sisters, found himself in demand as an emcee for various student activities. People thought he was funny. It all started to add up.

Regan returns to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts as one of the top comedians in the country and “appropriate for all ages.”

What: Comedian Brian Regan When: 8 p.m. Nov. 17 Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

The Merz Trio recently won first place in the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition in New York City, adding to its prizes and increasing recognition as a “bold, new and fiercely creative ensemble.” Formerly the Ensemble-in-Residence in the New England Conservatory’s Professional Piano Trio Program, the Boston-based trio is composed of violinist Brigid Coleridge, cellist Julia Yang and pianist Lee Dionne. They like to make connections across many fronts, and the trio’s program at the BrickBox Theater Nov. 12 presented by Music Worcester includes “La vie en rose” (Piaf/Louiguy/Mannot) and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor. (RD) What: The Merz Trio presented by Music Worcester When: 8 p.m. Nov. 12 Where: BrickBox Theater at the JMAC, 20 Franklin St., Worcester How much: $55; students $17.50; youth, $7.50. Seating by general admission. For tickets and details of Music Worcester’s pandemic policy go to www.musuicworcester.org

How much: $39.50 and $45 depending on seat locations, with a limit of eight tickets per purchase.

Please contact the box office at (877) 571-7469 or visit www.thehanovertheatre.org. For The Hanover Theatre’s safety protocols, visit www.thehanovertheatre.org/ safetyprotocols

Comedian Brian Regan will perform at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.

JIM COLLINS/ T&G FILE

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 25

‘A Bluesman Came to Town’ “Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town” tells the tale through 13 songs of a young man, working on his family farm, who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. “’A Bluesman Came To Town’ isn’t a story about me,” Castro said of his new album.

“It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences, though. I’ve seen firsthand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.” However, Castro, two-time winner of the Blues Music Award (the Grammy of the Blues) for Entertainer Of The Year, is back on the road and comes to the Bull Run in Shirley still in place as one of roots music’s most popular and exciting artists. (RD) What: Tommy Castro & The Painkillers When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 (doors open for dinner and seating at

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Tommy Castro & The Painkillers perform Nov. 18 at Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA SMITH

5:30 p.m.)

Where: The Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $28. Proof of vaccination or proof of negative PCR COVID 19 test within 72 hours of performance required. www.bullrunrestaurant.com

David “Suave” Gonzalez is a host and producer of “Death By Incarceration.”

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‘Death By Incarceration’ “Death By Incarceration” began as a podcast about life behind bars and has now become a movement. Producers and hosts David “Suave” Gonzalez (Suave podcast/released lifer) and Kevin McCracken (Adulting Well podcast) are joined by lawmakers, community leaders, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated as they shed light on institutions that harm marginalized communities. Now they are coming to the BrickBox Theater at the JMAC and you can see them live along with

Nikki Bell from the LIFT organization and other esteemed members of the Worcester community. (RD) What: Crawlspace Media Presents “Death By Incarceration” Live with David “Suave” Gonzalez and Kevin McCracken When: 7 p.m. Nov. 13 Where: BrickBox Theater at the JMAC, 20 Franklin St., Worcester How much: $14 to $26. tickets.thehanovertheatre.org/ brickbox/Online/mapSelect.asp.

For details of safety protocols go to https://thehanovertheatre.org/safetyprotocols

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See more at mohegansun.com or call 1.888.MOHEGAN. Must be 21 or older to attend shows in Comix and Wolf Den. Before your visit, see list of Arena safety protocols at mohegansun.com/arena-policies. Select Arena events may require masks, negative COVID tests and/or proof of vaccination status to attend. Please check mohegansun.com or tour’s website for the latest updates.

26 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

William Shatner was out of this world at RICC Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I have a confession to make. I am a lifelong William Shatner fan.

In fact, when I was a baby, I didn’t cry, “Waaaah!”

I cried Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnn!!!!

The only Starfl eet Academy cadet ever to have beaten the “no-win” Kobayashi Maru scenario, Shatner — aka Captain James T. Kirk on the original “Star Trek” series (which ran from Sept.

8, 1966, to June 3, 1969) and seven subsequent feature fi lms — beamed down to the Rhode Island Comic Con this past weekend. And, of course, I had to be there.

Even though he was in the company of personalities representing hot properties that include “Cobra Kai,” “Clerks,” “Halloween,” “The Mandalorian,” “Scream,” “Stranger Things” and “The Walking Dead,” Shatner still attracts long autograph and photo op lines and is as popular as ever with fans.

The start of my Shatner fandom all goes back to a simpler, innocent time when we only had three major networks, a few UHF channels and needed rabbit ears antennas and/or aluminum foil and/ or a metal coat hanger to adjust our television sets.

As a Boy Scout, I would regularly be late for our 7 p.m. pack meetings at Burncoat Baptist Church because “Star Trek” was on at 6 p.m. on Channel 56 in Boston and I had to see the end, no matter how many times I’d seen the episode, and that’s including the credits.

I remember parading around the corridors of Burncoat High School on the day that “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” opened, barging into unsuspecting classroom and, with a Shatner-like bravado, belting out the eight-line tag line that accompanied the poster.

My fi rst voice mail greeting at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette was a variation of the original “Star Trek” intro that opened, “News, the fi nal frontier.

These are the journalists of the Worcester Telegram & Evening Gazette, their ongoing mission, to seek out strong leads and entertaining features, to boldly go where no newspaper has gone before.”

Every Christmas, up to the time my mother got ill, my family would watch, in its entirety, Shatner’s hilarious hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live” from 1986.

William Shatner, left, and his biggest fan, reporter and columnist Craig S. Semon, in 2017.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG S. SEMON

Not only does this episode feature the infamous sketch in which Shatner tells Trekkies at a Star Trek Convention to “Get a life!” it also has a hilarious “Wrath of Khan” and “T.J. Hooker” spoof and “The Lost Ending of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’” which is my personal favorite SNL sketch of all time.

From classic “Twilight Zone” episodes to “T.J. Hooker,” from “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” to “Horror at 37,000 Feet,” from a memorable guest-starring role on “Columbo” to playing the lead in the cheesy “Kingdom of the Spiders,” from Promise Margarine pitch-man to Priceline.com commercials, from his twice Emmy-winning portrayal as Denny Crane on “Boston Legal” to battling supernatural elements in “The Devil’s Rain,” I loved everything Shatner has been in.

In addition to interviewing Shatner for the paper, I have caught his panels at many comic book conventions in New England for the last 30-plus years.

And while he moved me to tears with his Oscar-worthy performance in “The Wrath of Khan,” Shatner has never touched me so deeply, so profoundly, as he did during a panel at the Rhode Island Comic Con this past weekend.

On Oct. 13, the Canadian actor fl ew to space on Blue Origin’s second sub-orbital human spacefl ight, courtesy of Blue Origin founder and Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos.

Although he went off on a few tangents during his fi rst New England appearance since conquering space, the fi nal frontier, Shatner primarily talked about one thing — boldly going where no 90-year-old (and a very few people

younger than that) have gone before.

During a RICC panel Saturday, Shatner confessed that he felt a little bit slighted not being asked by Bezos to be on the inaugural fl ight. When he was asked to be on the second fl ight, Shatner initially nixed the idea.

“I’m not going on the second. Am I the vice president?” Shatner mused. “Nah, I’d have to go to the desert and be uncomfortable.”

Then his inner Captain Kirk kicked in and his inherent sense of adventure.

“Well, you know,” Shatner continued.

“It’s a thrill. I thought, why not.”

Shatner said he had to climb 11 fl ights of stairs to get to the top of the gantry, which was a little too much for the 90year-old actor to physically endure.

“I’m Captain Kirk and I’m sucking wind,” Shatner said, as he pretended to hyperventilate.

Another thing that freaked him out was the mighty roar of the rocket engines.

“The sound of those engines lighting up was enormous. They said, ‘It’s going to sound like a jet engine.’ No,” Shatner said.

“When the thing started to crackle, I’m thinking I could die. What am I doing here? And this thing starts to take off . I’m looking down this big window and I’m seeing the ground disappearing. And I could die.”

While blowing up in a rocket ship while exploring the dark recesses of space would have been a more honorable death for the man who originated the role of Captain Kirk than the way his character died in a meaningless industrial accident in “Star Trek Generations,” Shatner did not die. In fact, he wants to tell the world about his exploits in space.

Shatner amusingly confessed to the RICC crowd one minor problem he had on the fl ight, fastening a strap that secured his torso in the chair during weightlessness.

“I couldn’t fi nd my crotch. My diffi culty was fi nding my crotch,” the classically trained Shakespearean actor shouted.

“Captain Kirk couldn’t fi nd his crotch.”

Shatner said he had very little to prepare him for weightlessness, other than a ridiculous video from the fi rst Blue Origin space fl ight.

“I saw a fi lm of Jeff Bezos and his brother on the fi rst trip. Somebody, maybe his brother (Bezos’ brother) was throwing Skittles at his (Jeff Bezos’) ass,” Shatner said. “And I’m thinking this is not the way I want to spend my time in

space.”

As for the actual sensation of being lighter than air, Shatner said the experience is almost indescribable but he tried to describe it anyway.

“It’s like you’re in a dream state where you think you’re fl oating over something,” Shatner said. “It’s unreal.”

When the rocket reached the point of weightlessness, the four-member crew unstrapped themselves from their seats and fl oated, untethered, around the capsule, while Shatner fl oated toward the porthole window to take a look outside.

“I’m alone at the window and I’m hoping that there wouldn’t be another furry thing with its nose pressed against the window (cheekily referencing his classic ‘Twilight Zone’ episode ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,’ in which the actor plays an airline passenger who sees a gremlin outside the plane, tearing the wing apart),” Shatner said. “But there wasn’t.”

What Shatner did see was much more profound and scary.

“It’s blue. It’s really blue. And, in fact, Yuri Gagarin, the fi rst astronaut, apparently said, ‘It’s blue!’” Shatner exclaimed about seeing the Earth from space. “We see blue sky. We know that’s a refraction but he’s (Gargarin’s) on top of it for the fi rst time and said, ‘It’s blue!’ God, it blows my mind! And I’m looking at it.”

After looking down at the Earth, Shatner sets his eyes out in space and he didn’t like the blackness that he saw starring back at him.

“Most of my life I’ve had this romance with space … The mysteries of space are so extraordinary. You could spend your life just pondering its beauty,” Shatner said. “There was no beauty in what I saw … I saw death. I saw coldness, the ugliness, the absence of light and pressure and air. It’s death. That’s my death.”

Then Shatner shared the epiphany he had that fi lled him with deep conviction and overwhelming dread.

“This little, tiny rock that has taken fi ve billions years to get to this point, I can see it all. I’m looking at 13.8 billion light years and I’m seeing this little rock with yellow and blue and white,” Shatner said. “My next thought, totally unexpected, was, My God. We’re killing it.

We’re killing this rock. It’s our spaceship. It’s our life. It’s the only thing we have between us and that is that and we’re killing it. Why? What the (expletive) is a matter with us!”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 27

Continued from Page 23D

ment, and the vulnerability almost leaves the listener off balance when the next song, “Diamond in a Trash Can,” explodes.

“Diamond in a Trash Can” is a ride, all swagger and bravado, but it hits this moment of menace where Dante declares, “She told me.../’We’re not perfect. We all have things people might not like to see.../It takes a lot of hard work, clear thinking, & good makeup to be accepted as a freak.’”

In a lot of ways, this song is the soul of the album. The willingness to skid out of high velocity into a sort of musical drift is arresting. Dante sings, “do the work, play the role/celebrate, give them face/accept the consequence without complaint/be a girl, be a boy/be whatever, but not destroyed/look them all in their eyes/do not let your work be compromised/You’re a passing fad/If you have no long-term plan/You’re a palace in shambles, darling.../I’m a diamond in a trash can.” That’s the album in a nutshell, the quandary at the heart of rock ‘n’ roll stardom: There is a price. What are you willing to sacrifi ce for it? What are you willing to become?

“D.I.R.T.Y.” fi lls the silence after the question, a grungy, bruise-knuckled rocker with a touch of funk, before the album takes a soaring, operatic turn with “Rhinestone Cluster,” where Dante sings of love, “the light only serves to blind you.”

With each song, Dante seems to paint his persona more and more as Icarus. It’s hard not to wait for the wax to melt, but Dante pivots again, and we’re instead given an interlude with “Little Belle,” which addresses a guardian angel watching over the rocker struggling in the mire. The next song is “Crashing,” which is the place any attentive listener knew this was headed, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end: “Crashing is the easy part,” sings Dante, “but patching up your shattered heart/Means bonding the fl eshy parts with precious metal.”

Everything comes to a head

with the electrifying “Pigs in the Powder Room,” a song which fl ips the table on the album’s entire narrative. “You can die upon the stage, it happens all the time,” sings Dante. “Ugly can soak in the spotlight, beauty can rot on the vine.” It’s a toxic lover, it’s the underbelly of stardom.

Whatever it is, its rejection is immensely satisfying. But is that really the end? The album ends on the elegiac “No Road Home.”

“I made my wish, I said my prayers, I do not beg forgiveness,” sings Dante. “All my happiness depends on me and the ugly truth is/When it comes to success, just like you I’m ruthless/and I know there is no road home.” It’s not a happy ending, but there’s something indelibly honest in its sinister undertone, a sense of understanding that might taste ashen, but is undeniably the truth.

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28 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

WARL ADOPTION OPTION

Meet Noodles Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes. WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

Introducing … NOODLES! Noodles is an active and intelligent boy who loves to work for his food but doesn't like to share it. He already knows how to sit and is eager to fi nd a home with someone dedicated to teaching him some new tricks. Noodles loves to play. When that play involves other dogs, Noodles does best with easy going, well socialized dogs with lots of dog play experience.

When play involves people, Noodles would love to meet someone to teach him to play fetch! Noodles loves to run and right now his idea of fetch is more like a game of keep away. Noodles likes to stay busy and would love to attend our free dog training classes off ered with adoption Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 p.m.

An adult home that shares the same interests as this dynamic young boy is Noodles' dream!

WARL COVID-19 Procedures As of Nov. 9, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to share with you some changes we have implemented so that we can continue to serve the pets and people of our community while keeping our team protected.

• ADOPTIONS: At this time, adoptions are being held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adoption, please visit our website worcesterarl.org/ adopt/ to learn more about our

Draft Continued from Page 20D

stouts. We get that,” Cullen said. “But we also really like lagers and pilsners.

And we’ve dedicated a new tank to them. We have a plan that if those take off , we can produce them in a larger quantity.”

A majority of the beer will go out the

available animals then call us at (508) 853-0030 ext.0 or email us at info@worcesterarl. org to schedule an appointment.

• CASUAL VISITS TO THE SHELTER are prohibited. We will strictly enforce this in order to keep our animal care team protected while still maintaining the most essential function of our operation ... fi nding homes for animals in need.

• ANIMAL SURRENDERS: Our business practice for surrendering a pet remains the same. All pet owners must contact WARL in advance of surrendering a pet. Please call (508) 853-0030.

• SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS: All scheduled appointments will be honored. If you have a scheduled appointment, we will be contacting you to discuss changes to our drop off /pick up procedures.

• DONATIONS ACCEPTED except for open bags of food.

• Pet food, cat litter, and other shelter supplies will be essential in continuing to provide for our animals and to assist community members in need. To avoid unnecessary travel and exposure, items can be purchased online from our Amazon Wishlist — https:// www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3AX342JIL73M0.

• Weekly training classes are going on for adopters.

• The WARL Volunteer Program is temporarily suspended. All regular volunteer shifts are on hold. We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as we can. We have many animals in our care who depend on us to stay healthy and well. The above measures help to protect our staff and community from

the spread of COVID - 19 by minimizing face-to-face interactions while continuing to operate only core essential services. Please continue to follow our

Facebook page for additional updates.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the shelter at (508) 853-0030 or info@ worcesterarl.org.

door, loaded into two new trucks River Styx purchased ahead of launching its most ambitious self-distribution eff ort to date.

“We’re hitting the road and actively seeking accounts, looking to get into any and every store we can,” Cullen said, noting the brewery hired a sales and distribution manager to lead the charge.

If all goes well, you’ll be able to fi nd River Styx beer in every corner of the

state, she said. The brewery will even send some cases overseas, starting with a shipment to Germany.

River Styx’s taproom regulars will benefi t from the distribution changes, too: The brewery will have more beer on tap thanks to the brewhouse expansion and still plans to have taproom-only releases.

A year ago, Cullen told me how her brewery was struggling with the taproom closing to the public, juggling mul-

tiple business models, trying to keep the lights on and beer fl owing.

Last week she could not stop talking about how bright the future looked for River Styx.

“We really haven’t made a large capital investment in the brewery,” she said. “We’re now investing more than we did to open the place. We’re hoping that this expansion will trigger future expansions that will be funded by us.”

Noodles is available for adoption through WARL. PHOTO COURTESY STEVE GEORGON

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 29

LEGALS

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Section 00.11.00 ADVERTISEMENT TO BID

SITE VISIT BY APPOINTMENT: NONE The Contract Documents may be seen, but not removed at: Worcester Housing Authority Nashoba Blue Inc.

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Section 00.11.00 ADVERTISEMENT TO BID The Worcester Housing Authority, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed The Worcester Housing Authority, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed bids from Contractors for the Waste Pipe Improvements in Worcester, bids from Contractors for the Waste Pipe Improvements in Worcester, Massachusetts,ininaccordance accordancewith withthe thedocuments documentsprepared preparedbybyRusso RussoBarr Barr Massachusetts, Associates,Inc. Inc.The TheProject Projectconsists consistsof: of:Waste Wastestack stackreplacement replacementand andwawaAssociates, terriser riserreplacement. replacement. Removal Removaland andreinstallation reinstallationofofthe thekitchen kitchencabinets cabinets ter willbe beneeded neededtotocomplete completethe thework. work.Cutting, Cutting,patching, patching,and andpainting paintingofofthe the will drywall. drywall.AtAtproject projectcompletion, completion,Contractor Contractorshall shallprovide providea awritten writtenguaranguarantee teethat thatcovers coversallalldefects defectsininworkmanship workmanshipand andmaterials materialsfor fora aperiod periodofof two two(2) (2)years yearsfrom fromdate dateofofacceptance. acceptance.The Thegeneral generalscope scopeofofthe theconstrucconstruction tionwork workisisasasfollows: follows: •Removal •Removalofofkitchen kitchencabinets cabinetsand andset setaside. aside.Cutting Cuttingofofthe thedrywall. drywall.

•Removal and replacement of kitchen waste stacks and hot and cold•Removal and replacement of kitchen waste stacks and hot and coldwater risers. water risers.

•Patching of drywall and painting the areas that were worked on.

•Patching of drywall andcabinets. painting the areas that were worked on.

•Reinstallation of kitchen •Reinstallation of kitchen cabinets.

The work is estimated to cost $1,260,000.

The are work is estimated to cost $1,260,000.

Bids subject to M.G.L. c.149 §44A-J & to minimum wage rates as reBids are subjectc.l49 to M.G.L. c.149 & to minimum wage ratesELECas required

by M.G.L. §§26 to 27H §44A-J inclusive.

THIS PROJECT IS BEING TRONICALLY BID AND COPY WILL NOT ACCEPTED. Please quired by M.G.L. c.l49HARD §§26 to 27H BIDS inclusive.

THIS BE PROJECT IS BEING ELECreview the instructions the bid documents on NOT how to as an Please elecTRONICALLY BID AND in HARD COPY BIDS WILL BEregister ACCEPTED. tronic The bids to be prepared and submitted at reviewbidder. the instructions in theare bid documents on how to register as an elecwww.biddocsonline.com.

Tutorials instructions how submitted to completeat tronic bidder.

The bids are and to be preparedon and the electronic bid documents are available online (click theto"Tutorial" www.biddocsonline.com.

Tutorials and instructions onon how complete tab at the bottom footer). General bidders must be certified by the Divithe electronic bid documents are available online (click on the "Tutorial" sion of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) in the foltab at the bottom footer). General bidders must be certified by the Divilowing category of work, Roofing, and must submit a current DCAMM Cersion ofofCapital Asset andPrime/General Maintenance (DCAMM) the foltificate Eligibility andManagement signed DCAMM ContractorinUpdate lowing category of work, Roofing, and must submit current DCAMM CerStatement.

General Bids will be received until 11:00aAM on Thursday, 25 tificate of 2021 Eligibility signed DCAMM Prime/General Contractor Update November and and publicly opened online, forthwith. Filed Sub-bids for Statement.

General Bids received until AM on opened Thursday, 25 the trades listed below willwill be be received until on 11:00 and publicly onNovember 2021 and publicly opened online, forthwith. Filed Sub-bids for line, forthwith.

SUBTRADES the trades listed below will be received until on and publicly opened onFiled line, Sub-bidders forthwith. must be certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) in the following category of work, SUBTRADES Plumbing, and mustmust submit current by DCAMM Certificate of Eligibility Filed Sub-bidders be acertified the Division of Capital Asset and Mansigned DCAMM Prime/General Contractor Update Statement. Filed Subagement and Maintenance (DCAMM) in the following category of work, Bids will be received until 11:00 AM on Thursday, 18 November 2021 and Plumbing, and must submit a current DCAMM Certificate of Eligibility and publicly opened online, forthwith. All Bids should be submitted online at signed DCAMM Prime/General Contractor Update Statement.

Filedtime Subwww.biddocsonline.com and received no later than the date and Bids willabove. be received until 11:00 on Thursday, November by 2021 and specified General bids andAM sub-bids shall be 18 accompanied a bid publiclythat opened forthwith. should be submitted online at deposit is notonline, less than five (5%)All ofBids the greatest possible bid amount www.biddocsonline.com and made received no later than date Housing and time (considering all alternates) and payable to the Newthe Bedford specified above.

General bids and Documents sub-bids shall bebe accompanied by aon bid Authority.

Bid Forms and Contract will made available November 2021 www.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed elecdeposit that03, is not lessatthan five (5%) of the greatest possible bid amount tronically and all hardcopy requested) or payable at Nashoba Blue, at 433Housing Main (considering alternates) and made to the NewInc. Bedford Street, Hudson, MA 01749 (978-568-1167).

There plan available deposit of Authority.

Bid Forms and Contract Documents will is beamade on $50.00 per set03, (maximum 2 sets) payable to BidDocs ONLINE Inc. Plan November 2021 atofwww.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed elecdeposits may be electronically paid or by check. This deposit will be retronically and hardcopy requested) or at Nashoba Blue, Inc. at 433 Main funded for up to two sets for general bidders and for one set for subStreet, Hudson, MA 01749 (978-568-1167). There is a plan deposit of bidders upon return of the sets in good condition within thirty (30) days of $50.00ofper set (maximum of 2 sets) BidDocs Inc. Plan receipt general bids. Otherwise, thepayable deposit to shall be theONLINE property of the deposits Authority. may be electronically paid or be by purchased check. This be reAwarding Additional sets may fordeposit $50.00.will Bidders funded forContract up to two sets fortogeneral bidders andshall for one set afor subrequesting Documents be mailed to them include sepabidders upon theset sets good condition within thirty (30) rate check for return $40.00of per forinUPS Ground (or $65.00 per set fordays UPSof receipt of non-refundable, general bids. Otherwise, deposit shallONLINE be the property of the overnight), payable the to the BidDocs Inc., to cover mail handling costs. Additional sets may be purchased for $50.00. Bidders Awarding Authority.

Attention is called to the following:to be mailed to them shall include a separequesting Contract Documents 1.rate Provisions of Equal Employment check for $40.00 per set forOpportunity; UPS Ground (or $65.00 per set for UPS 2.overnight), Provisions non-refundable, for payment of not less than theBidDocs minimum wagesInc., as set payable to the ONLINE to forth cover in the Specifications; mail handling costs.

3. Provisions of Chapter 14, Acts of 1966, Imposing a Temporary Sales Tax, Attention is called to the following: Section 1, Subsection 6 (d) and (k) exempting the Authority from the opera1. Provisions of Equal Employment Opportunity; tion of such a chapter; Provisions for of not the minimum set and forth 4.2.Requirement to payment furnish and pay less for athan Performance Bondwages and a as Labor in the Specifications; Materials Bond as set forth in the specifications, Provisionscertificate of Chapterindicating 14, Acts ofcoverage 1966, Imposing a Temporary Tax, 5.3.Insurance for public liability, Sales property Section and 1, Subsection 6 (d) and (k) exempting the Authority from the operadamage workers compensation, in accordance with the contract requirements, be filed by the successful bidder upon signing of the tion of suchmust a chapter; contract.

4. Requirement to furnish and pay for a Performance Bond and a Labor and PRE-BID CONFERENCE SITE in VISIT: Materials Bond as set/forth the specifications, Date and Time: certificate Wednesday, 10 November 2021for at 11:00 Address: 40 5. Insurance indicating coverage publicAM. liability, property Belmont Street, Worcester, MA. Instructions: All attendees are required to damage and workers compensation, in accordance with the contract refollow all COVID-19 State and Local guidelines. quirements, must be filed by the successful bidder upon signing of the SITE VISIT BY APPOINTMENT: NONE contract.

The Contract Documents may be seen, but not removed at: PRE-BID CONFERENCE / SITE VISIT: Worcester Housing Authority Nashoba Blue Inc. DatePlantation and Time:Street Wednesday, 10 November 2021Street at 11:00 AM. Address: 40 630A 433 Main Belmont Street, Worcester, MA. Instructions: attendees Worcester, MA 01605 Hudson,All MA 01749 are required to follow all COVID-19 State and Local guidelines.

508-665-3312 978-568-1167

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30 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

J O N E S I N’

Enjoy Fun By The Numbers puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

If you would like to place your ad in our classifieds please call

800-695-1924 or email classifieds@telegram.com

Across 1 Light snack 5 Hoppy beverage, briefly 8 Library nook 14 “If ___ be so bold” 15 Snare 16 App where you’d better know your left from your right?

17 Comic-strip magician 19 Lunar module 20 Kool-Aid Man’s catchphrase 21 Mini golf goal 22 Former Shanghai Sharks athlete Ming 23 Non-dairy dessert 26 More than a peck 30 Moral source of authority, in a way 32 “(Everything ___) ___ It For You” (Bryan Adams power ballad) 34 The end of school?

35 Chain that merged with AMC Theatres 36 Got progressively more confusing 40 When National Deaf History Month ends (it’s actually a 34-day period) 41 Post ___ (afterward, in Latin) 42 Flight board fig.

43 Office drudge 47 Something ___ entirely 48 Exit the tub (but not literally, cause that’s dangerous) 49 Wrestlemania location 52 Birthday candle material 53 “The Daily Show” or “Late Night Mash”, e.g.

55 Some Netflix offerings 59 Battle site of 1066 61 Japanese crime syndicate 62 December 24 or 31 63 Yokel 64 Dodges 65 William Gaines’s magazine 66 “The Book of Mormon” co-writer Parker Down 1 “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” director 2 Nebraska city associated with steaks 3 Japanese electronics giant 4 Jekyll’s bad half 5 Where travelers often stay

“On a One-Name Basis”--five for five.

by Matt Jones

6 Three-time Women’s PGA Championship winner 7 Teddy’s Mount Rushmore neighbor 8 Repetitive-sounding spear-throwing tool 9 One whose spinning might be out of control?

10 Jake Tapper’s employer 11 Perplexing 12 Two-finger gesture 13 Go off course 18 Tabula ___ (blank slate) 21 Casserole veggie 24 Boorish 25 Renew a skill 26 Danish cheese?

27 “That is,” in Latin 28 Repaired rips 29 They’re almost out of H.S. 30 “Forget it” 31 World Cup cheer 32 Drive forward 33 Fixes a sock 37 Roth of “Inglourious Basterds” 38 2.5 out of 5, say 39 Skied downhill 40 “The Great Grape ___ Show” 44 Some long-haired dogs, for short 45 “A ___ on thee!”

46 49 50 51 52 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

State, overseas Like some matters Present, as a case Irascible Navigation app that offers celebrity voices Pinball no-no Ombré need Toyota ___4 (SUV model) “Wanted” initials Dirty rain (or rainy dirt)?

Dress line “Colin in Black and White” co-creator DuVernay

Last week's solution

©2021 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #1066

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | 31

LAST CALL

Emily Campbell, who is chronicling the start and evolution of the opioid crisis Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The new Hulu mini series, "Dopesick," is based largely on the 2018 book by Beth Macy, and shows how the now dissolved Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, along with lax regulations, pushed OxyContin in the 1990s. OxyContin’s introduction is now viewed as the start of the opioid epidemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people nationwide and addicted millions more. With this resonating in the public memory, Last Call sat down with local expert Emily Campbell, a professor of sociology at The College of the Holy Cross, whose current research is on the social, political and cultural implications of drug overdose death. In the last two decades, over 800,000 Americans have died of drug overdose, and her book project, tentatively titled "Grieving Overdose," tells the story of those left behind.

Why do you think that drugs have become as much a part of American culture as they have?

One piece of why we have the overdose crisis of such proportions and why it’s gotten worse in the last 20 years, is prohibition and the criminalization of drug use. What has been shown by political economists is that drugs become cheaper and more potent over time. Their use becomes more widespread and what we’ve seen is a snowball eff ect of the illicit market responding to ongoing prohibition. The war on drugs made them illegal and hard to fi nd but that had the effect of driving down the price, so it was easier to aff ord drugs.

Wouldn’t supply and demand mean that prices would increase?

Demand over time draws more people into the illicit drug trade and that has the eff ect of depressing prices over time, not the opposite. It’s been dropping for decades now. It is counterintuitive in some ways.

Is there a medical solution that’s being underutilized?

Challenges on the medical end of being able to prescribe buprenorphine, some of which have been lifted but data shows that doctors continue to underprescribe this medicine. Buprenorphine is normally prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that includes counseling and other behavioral therapies to provide patients with a whole-person approach. These are very important measures that could streamline people into recovery. What we see with buprenorphine is that once people are prescribed and have access to care, they do extremely well and are able to get their lives together and no longer have the pain and suff ering associated with chaotic drug use.

What is chaotic drug use?

It is drug use that has taken over somebody’s life, in a way that they can no longer maintain their basic wellbeing, and ordinary tasks are no longer as easy for them to complete because they are in a pattern of compulsive drug use. On the ground, in terms of preventing fatal overdoses, there are a number of other harm reduction methods being embraced, in particular naloxone, a nasal spray, which is designed to reverse overdoses to counteract life-threatening situations.

Would you say combatting chaotic drug use is a better

Emily Campbell, visiting assistant professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross. COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS

fi rst step than what we have now?

Yes, and ending the risks of consuming from a drug supply that is unpredictable, especially with the contamination of fentanyl. This is a very dangerous moment.

Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and accounts for 50% of the drug overdose deaths in Massachusetts. In terms of solutions, people need access to longterm treatment options which are currently very diffi cult to obtain due to the cost of drug

treatment. People should be able to spend weeks getting care and just not a few days.

Fentanyl is the contaminant?

Yes, it has grown precipitously since 2013 when it started contaminating heroin but now it’s a very long list of drugs and people need to be aware of that.

In some of your other work, you comment how sobriety is always considered the end goal and how that’s not always the best way to do it. Expand?

It comes with a model of abstinence which is very prevalent in the United States. There are some that stigmatize medicine like buprenorphine, saying you’re not truly sober if you’re using it, which can be very damaging. Sobriety doesn’t work for everyone and once we can be honest about this, we can ask questions of how we can reduce the harm of drug use overall. We need to begin by humanizing people who use drugs. More pathways to recovery have to be expanded and be honest that some people will use drugs and we don’t want that to be a death sentence.

So sobriety is not the only form of recovery, you could say?

Yes, and when they have the choice of what to do with their body is when they begin to move away from chaotic drug use. Clean needle sites and safe injections are a form of recovery.

Anything to add? It has been said that the "Dopesick" mini-series could help Americans see that the drug abusers are not the problem but are often portrayed as culprits.

It is true that the stigma is something that aff ects recovery — it is spoken about a lot in the recovery community and people who have gone through the challenges of addiction in their families and lives. People need access to long-term treatment but stigma is very much about our cultural belief system and plays out in interpersonal dynamics in how we treat one another. All people are deserving of dignity and shouldn’t be ashamed to seek help and when they do, be treated with the dignity they deserve.

32 | NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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